Amazon has put in a last-minute bid to acquire all of TikTok, the popular video app, as it approaches a deadline Saturday to be separated from its Chinese owner or face a ban in the United States, according to three people familiar with the bid.

Various parties who have been involved in the talks do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously, the people said. The bid came via an offer letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Amazon’s bid highlights the 11th-hour maneuvering in Washington over TikTok’s ownership. Policymakers in both parties have expressed deep national security concerns over the app’s Chinese ownership, and passed a law last year to force a sale of TikTok that was set to take effect in January.

President Donald Trump, who has pledged repeatedly to save the app despite the national security concerns, delayed the enforcement of that law until Saturday, even after it was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court.

Amazon declined to comment. TikTok didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Trump was slated to meet with top White House officials Wednesday to discuss TikTok’s fate. People familiar with the talks have outlined a potential deal that could involve bringing on a number of new U.S. investors, including Oracle, the technology giant, and Blackstone, the private equity firm, while sidestepping a formal sale. But it isn’t clear that such a structure would satisfy the conditions of the federal law.

Amazon has some ties to TikTok. The video app, which counts 170 million users in the United States, has become a major hub of retail shopping, with influencers recommending products to viewers. While the company has its own e-commerce operation known as TikTok Shop, many influencers encourage people to buy products on Amazon, which gives the influencers a cut of the transactions. It has also provided some technical infrastructure.

Amazon had previously tried to make a TikTok clone of sorts, called Inspire, inside its own app. Internally, it was a high-profile initiative, but was widely seen as unsuccessful at attracting shoppers. The company removed it from the app this year.

Amazon isn’t the first retailer to express interest in the app. In 2020, when TikTok was first pressured to sell to U.S. owners, Microsoft and Walmart made a bid for the company.

But Amazon would be the most high-profile bidder for the company, which has also attracted interest from billionaire Frank McCourt as well as Jesse Tinsley, the founder of the payroll firm Employer.com.

TikTok has maintained that it is not for sale, partly, it says, because the Chinese government would block a deal.

— New York Times

Tesla sales fall 13% in 1Q amid backlash

Tesla sales fell 13% in the first three months of the year, another sign that Elon Musk’s once high-flying car company is struggling to attract buyers.

The leading electric vehicle maker has faced a growing backlash from Musk’s embrace of right-wing politics and his role in the Trump administration. Opponents have staged protests at Tesla showrooms in the U.S. and in Europe, where the sales declines have been steeper.

Tesla’s line-up is aging, and some consumers may have held off from buying its bestselling Model Y while waiting for an updated version. The Austin, Texas, company also faces fierce competition from other EV makers offering vastly improved models, including those of China’s BYD.

Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 globally in the January to March quarter. The figure was down from sales of 387,000 in the same period a year ago. The decline came despite deep discounts, zero financing and other incentives and could be a warning that the company’s first-quarter earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.

Report: Private payrolls up 155,000 in March

Hiring at U.S. companies accelerated last month, rebounding from a weak February marked by severe weather in some regions of the country.

Private-sector payrolls increased by 155,000 in March, according to ADP Research on Wednesday. That was above all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Payroll additions in the manufacturing sector were the highest since October 2022 in ADP data, and overall businesses of all sizes created jobs.

The data also showed wage growth continued to cool. Workers who changed jobs saw a 6.5% pay increase, while those who stayed put saw a 4.6% gain. The gap between the two matches a series low.

— From news services